Reclosable packages have come into increasingly widespread use in view of the convenience they provide to consumers and other users to permit a portion of a package's contents to be used, and the package effectively reclosed. To this end, packages have been provided with reclosable elements including profile fastener strips, cooperating adhesive strips, hook-and-loop fastener elements, and the like, to permit a package to be conveniently reclosed after its initial opening. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,782,733, 4,655,862, 4,844,759, and 4,909,017, all hereby incorporated by reference, disclose various reclosable package constructions, and methods for effecting their formation.
Packages formed in accordance with the above-referenced patents typically include a package portion which is removable for initial opening of the package, and for providing access to a profile fastener strip or other type of reclosable element. In typical constructions known heretofore, the reclosable element of the package extends substantially completely across one dimension of the package, i.e., completely across the width of the package. Access to the package contents is thus facilitated.
For some applications, however, it can be desirable to maintain the sealed integrity of a portion of the package, while an associated portion of the package is configured for reclosable opening. Such an arrangement permits a package to be formed to include a pour spout, thus facilitating convenient pouring of the packages contents, such as dog food, fertilizer, dry cereal, or other dry, pourable materials. The present invention is directed to a package including a reclosable pour spout, which package can desirably be configured to include side gussets, thus desirably increasing the internal capacity of the package with efficient use of packaging materials.